“Richard Bakare”

We’ve just gone through the biggest purge of material items in our house ever. We got rid of almost everything going back to elementary school except for vital records. Trophies, games, furniture, etc. we are really focused on this minimalism path and are pouring all of our free time into it. I have a blog post I’m working on about the process of becoming minimalist. I’m interested to see the reaction people will have to a couple formally associated with being textbook consumers, wielding down to much less. Minimalism is a journey with no end, so I am sure the days and years will constantly be redefining for us just what is the right amount of “stuff.”

I doubt I can ever come to understand the propensity for senseless violence. Two days after an attack in England by terrorist, we have a shooting in Orlando which may have no ideological basis. Violence is never acceptable and doesn’t bring others to your side. I can only imagine that our growing inability to communicate across social, political, and economic divides. Talking doesn’t cure all ills, but it sure as heel can help calm people down if both sides are forced to listen before speaking.

Yoga is life and life is yoga. Flowing through your day with every breath, finding intention, being present, exercising patience. I learned this mantra from our instructor this past week. I hope to make it a real part of my everyday life. Breathing in every element of a situation, embracing the discomfort, relishing the blissful release, and learning to balance on the equilibrium between both sensations. I just have to find a Yoga facility I am willing yo pay more for now that I don’t have ClassPass or maybe realizing the dream of building a yoga studio in our backyard one day.

If you are in NYC this summer, make sure you get tickets to see the Public Theater’s performance of Julius Ceaser at the Delacort Theater for Shakespeare in the Park. The performance has been updated with an homage to you know who and our current social dilemmas. The principal questions I was left asking is whether to stick with the devil you know or take on the unknown? Along with, does the struggle for change matter if the message doesn’t register. I think that the external forces we feel have so much control over our lives aren’t as powerful as we make them. If we become the change we want to see, it doesn’t matter who is in charge.

The start of a long stretch in NYC. I decided to try something different and stay longer on the road than just 4 days at a time. What I found in previous weeks was that the hours spent at the airport was a real time suck. I’m really missing my “home time” but will have to make the most of it and discover more of NYC. Most of all by catching up with family and friends while I here.

This is one of the more personally gratifying products I will get to review. Full disclosure: a high school friend of mine is a co-patent holder on these. So, I am very proud to own and review a pair. Like most of the early adopters, it took a while to get mine. Over a month from purchase to delivery. Once you get your hands on a pair and feel the quality of the build you will see why they take a while to manufacture and are worth the wait.

This past weekend we celebrated Mother’s Day. One of the things I have come to understand in life is that none of us come with an instruction manual at birth. So, the how of raising us is a learning lesson for our parents. The stakes for this live classroom lesson amount to life and death. It’s therefore understandable why our parents can be so conservative and interventionist in our own lives as we grow up. Though, you may have not have agreed with all of their decisions, you have to be glad that you are here with even a modicum of opportunity to chase your dreams. So, take a second and say thanks to your Mom and maybe take a moment to listen to the personal tributes in Story Corps Podcast #500 about Moms.

This post is a recap of a recent trip to Spain that I took with my wife. I’ve tried to put together a scrapbook and guide that catalogs and combines my own research before going, experiences during our stay, and recommendations from friends who’ve also visited Spain. I hope this list of places to stay, see, and dine at comes in handy to you if you are considering a trip to the Iberian peninsula. I am only going to cover the more popular areas of the country. I hope to make a return trip in the future to explore the Basque region, Canary Islands, and more. I would also love to come back and watch the Running of the Bulls in mid-summer.

What a week we had in Barcelona, Europe’s Modernista architecural marvel. Followed by a train ride to and a few days in Madrid. The US really needs to embrace the low cost air carrier, regional airport, and train transportation options that Europe has. So many of the fellow travelers we met, who were from Europe, were in Barcelona on some ridiculously low airfare trip from London, Germany, etc. We are almost intentionally limiting social mobility and economic development by not opening up our transportation options.

This week we embarked on our longest vacation as a couple. Two weeks traveling around Spain. It’s so hard to be away from home, our family and routines for so long. But no growth comes from being complacent or an unwillingness to step outside of your comfort zone. This trip I am trying a project where I take all the notes I put together before the trip, tips given to me, and experiences along the way into one long blog entry under that will be my travel guide on visiting Spain. It’s a great way of being really engaged in the trip, creating some great content and perhaps helping someone else put together a memorable trip. I will have it posted by the end of the first week in May.